


Ashes of Eden

by LookingForTheSky



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (i'm lying. it's totally gay), ... kind of, Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, It's Not Gay If It's In Space™, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, alternative universe, everyone is cursing like a sailor, i'm pretty sure this is not how space and physics work, they're astronauts.. or something like that, this is bad but i spent so much time on it soo rip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 17:12:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7627012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LookingForTheSky/pseuds/LookingForTheSky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last time they saw each other, they were surrounded by stars and going down in flames.<br/>When they met again for the first time, it wasn’t all that different.<br/>Well, maybe just not quite as literally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ashes of Eden

**Author's Note:**

> I went into this show with no intentions of shipping anyone and expecting happy adventures and dumb jokes  
> All I got was a shitload of gay space children™ and pain (and dumb jokes)
> 
> There'll be more to it (at least one more chapter, maybe more), but I still tagged it as Major Character Death™ for now, because. well. just in case. you'll see 
> 
> I don't speak Spanish, Google translator was my only friend. feel free to correct my sentences! hover your cursor above the words to see English translations :')  
> As you might see, I don't have a beta. If somebody is interested to beta my stuff, hit me up  
> (i promise i'm actually a decent human being when i'm not writing sad fanfics)
> 
> Title, and also the idea until some point, is from Breaking Benjamin's "Ashes of Eden"; I don't own the song, or Voltron itself, and so on
> 
> (somebody get me out of this hell)

_“Will the darkness fall upon me_  
_When the air is growing thin?_  
_Will the light begin to pull me_  
_To its everlasting will?_  
_I can hear the voices haunting;_  
_There is nothing left to fear._  
_And I am still calling –_  
_I am still calling to you._

_Stay with me, don't let me go;_  
_Because there's nothing left at all._  
_Stay with me, don't let me go –_  
_Until the Ashes of Eden fall.”_

**Breaking Benjamin – Ashes of Eden**

 

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

It was supposed to be _easy;_ well, as easy as travelling through space could be.

Ugh, he felt like he was stuck in some boring cliché movie right now – everything should’ve gone peachy, according to plan, without any interruptions, yadda yadda yadda and so on.

But duh.

Where would be the fun and interesting story? Yeah, no, it’d be boring.

He remembered always complaining about that in the movies he watched back home.  
About how it was always the same.

Well, he never thought he’d live it.

It was a simple task, really; travelling through the galaxy, finding a thing™ that needed fixing, actually fixing the thing™, getting back ASAP, snatching the money, and it’d all be over.

Yeah. Right.

Nobody warned him about the fucking aliens, alright.

Lance let out a quite unmanly screech as the ship got targeted again, swaying dangerously sharp to the right.  
He gripped the back of his seat tightly with both hands as his knees buckled, pressing his forehead against the cool leather and closing his eyes in a silent prayer to whatever God there might be.  
What escaped his lips, though, was an unholy stream of curses.  
_“Jesus fucking Christ we’re gonna die we’regonnafuckingdie I can’t believe this what did we do to piss you off please if it was Keith just let me fucking live—“_

He flinched and immediately mentally scolded himself.  
This was fucking serious, damn it, no time for his stupid, stupid jokes, but not that he’d ever admit _that_ out loud.

Lance could feel the panic slowly creeping in; his chest was constricting painfully, and as he continued to rasp out quick puffs of air he could feel cold sweat dripping down his neck.  
He grit his teeth and finally pushed himself off his safe place, towards the control desk in front of him.

His mind was foggy, pulling up a blank wall as soon as he saw every possible button and screen screaming at him blaring red, redredred _redeverywhere—_

“Lance! You need to get the ship back under our control! _Now!_ ”

He barely registered the voice _(itwastalkingtoofast)_ calling his name and giving him an order.

He fucking—

 _“I fucking know that!”_ Lance howled desperately, smacking one of his (totallynot) trembling hands down, hitting a random button.  
Immediately, another alarm went off and he wanted nothing more than to sit down and cry.

“What are you doing, Lance?! Listen, you need to get a grip, _please—!_ ”

 _[“Oh dios mío!”](.) _ He cried out, reaching for a handle and pulling it down.

The ship sped up.

Lance blinked sweat out of his eyes, his fingers now ghosting over a dark red screen, blinking at him furiously as he adjusted some settings.

_“Watch out—!”_

Something hard crashed into his shoulder, sending him stumbling into the wall to his left.  
He yelped, trying to catch his fall with the sweaty palms of his hands, when his brain finally registered the sound of gunfire and realization dawned on him.

Their ship suddenly took a sharp turn again, but this time Lance could tell that it wasn’t as unrestrained as before.

As he blinked his eyes back into focus, he could finally make out the dark figure in front of him, forcefully pulling at the wheel-like… well, wheel. It looked kind of weird for a wheel, but _oh my God_ _so not the point right now._

With as much dignity as he could muster up he got onto his feet and slammed back into the control board.  
There, he pushed back.

_“Get the fuck off this thing, Keith, I’m the actual pilot, for fuck’s sake—“_

“Then act like it!” Keith snarled back, turning his head to face him.

Lance could feel the next wave of stinging insults die on his tongue.  
His partner was pale, (prettyuniquebeautiful) purple eyes blown wide and bright and _get a fucking grip Lance this isn’t the time._

He hesitated and suddenly, a sense of calm overcame him.

“Uhm, yo, Keith, my buddy, my dude, listen. Hand over the wheel, alright? I— I’ve got this now, okay? We’ll be fine, so just—“  
Lance reached out, but Keith only tightened his grip.

That was when he noticed that the raven haired teenager was wearing his spacesuit’s gloves.  
And just about almost everything else of his outfit.

(except the helmet)

“You’re so wrong on so many levels, I don’t even know where to begin! Does this look fucking _fine_ to you, Lance!?”  
Keith’s voice was rising in octaves just as fast as Lance’s blood pressure right now, and he _so_ couldn’t deal with that.

“Listen, why are you ev—“ He started, but got interrupted by another sound.

“Keith! Lance! Status report! We got emergency signals, what’s happening?!”

“Pidge!” Keith yelled over the still on-going shooting around them, voice breaking with relief.

Lance used that moment of distraction to snatch back the wheel, gripping it securely.

Keith backed off a bit and almost slumped into his own seat next to Lance’s.

A screen above them came to life, but Lance could barely make out the face of their flight controller.

He leaned forward, reaching out to press another button, but never taking his eyes off front this time.  
“Pidge, Lance speaking. We’re getting hunted down by fucking _aliens_ right now. Did you _know_? Why didn’t anyone _tell_ us anything?!” He ranted, maneuvering the ship now one-handed around an enemy’s.

He heard something crash behind them, and hoped to God that fucker shot down one of their own.

“Lance— _Lance_ , that’s _it_ —“

“ _What_? What are you _talking_ about? _Aliens_? That’s _ridiculous_ —”

Keith spoke up just when Pidge did, suddenly looking very much up and alert again, and almost ripped the wheel back out of Lance’s grasp.

“What the _fuck_ , Keith, stop it—“  
Irritated, he pushed his comrade off again, who surprisingly didn’t resist this time; instead, he just looked at Lance like he got hit by inspiration with a train or something.  
(likethey’dgethitbythosefuckingaliensanysecondnow)

“Fly around them! Make them crash into one another!” He urged, using his hands to gesture wildly.

Lance could feel his eyebrow twitch.  
_“Guess what I’ve been trying to do this whole damn time already, Kogane—“_

He could see Keith frown from the corner of his eyes, but his attention shifted back up front.

Static rustled through the speakers.

“—ro speaking. We—orry.”

Then the screen flickered once.

For a second, he could see them clearly; Shiro was there, looking at them with something like regret and desperation on his face, while Pidge looked stunned and concerned, whirling around to look at the taller man.

Blackness flooded the screen and once again the static filled the cockpit.

“W-Wait, no, don’t— Shiro, Pidge, can you hear me?! What does that even _mean?!_ _Hello?!_ This can’t be _happening_ , oh my _God_ —“

Keith next to him lowered his head, his shoulders stiffening as Lance continued to curse in Spanish.

“Stop it,” he eventually snapped. The Korean boy turned around, back hunched.

Lance wouldn’t have it.

“Shut the fuck up, Keith, I seriously don’t need this right now—“

“Keep concentrating on flying this thing,” he interrupted quietly, barely audible over the sound of motors roaming and shots getting fired, barely scraping past them.

Lance could hear the doors to the cockpit opening and already half turned his head before considering that, nope, not worth it.

Instead, he yelled over his shoulders.

“What the fuck, where are you going?! Get your skinny ass back here, Keith, I’m serious—!”

“I need to check something. I’ll be back.”  
The doors slipped back close.

Lance continued to curse in the foreign tongue, before deciding that this shit needed to end.

Fast.

Now.

He gripped the wheel tight, his knuckles shining white through his skin, and pulled a 180.  
It turned on the spot, leaving him trying to catch his footing and grinding his teeth in concentration, before pulling the handle from before down even further.

The ship sped up, leaving behind multiple sounds of explosions and colliding enemies.

A smile slowly started to creep onto his face.

“Boo-yah!” He cheered loudly, throwing a fist into the air.  
Soon, there wouldn’t be many left.

Another sharp turn, and suddenly he was looking at Earth.

The smile vanished.  
Quickly he pulled up a holographic map, one hand tapping away on the projection and zooming in on his position.

“Alright,” he mumbled, eyes switching between the map and his current problem as he changed course.

Their job be damned, he wasn’t planning on fucking dying tonight, alright.  
He’d get them back home, and if it was the last thing he ever did.  
That was _his_ personal job as the damn pilot. And he’d do it right.

Suddenly, another screen popped up above him, along with a loud siren going off.

_“Warning – Airlock critically damaged. Warning – Airlock critically da—“_

A loud bang cut it off.

The ship suddenly went rigid, his knees giving in before his chin slammed against the wheel.

He clutched his face with one hand and hissed in pain.  
Blinking away his blurred vision, he immediately pulled himself up again.  
Lance could feel the control almost literally running through his grasp.

As the ship was being blown away, he steered against the movement.

A sudden scream pierced through the air.

Lance froze as soon as he realized that it wasn’t his own.

He cursed under his breath (his mom would have his unholy ass grounded so hard by now) while he hurriedly instructed the machine to autopilot itself.

As he moved through the endless halls, he stopped long enough in his room to put on his spacesuit

(just in case)

(keith wore it too)

(hurryhurry _hurrygoddammit_ )

before taking off again.

Completely trusting his instincts, he suddenly found himself banging at a big, round door.

_(airlockairlockairlockbadlydangerouslycriticallydamaged)_

_“Keith!_ Open this damn door or so help me—!”

“Stay where you are!”

Lance’s eyes widened.  
The answer had sounded muffled, almost like—

He put on his own helmet he had stored in the crook of his right arm until now, the comm’s cackling filling his ears.

“Keith, what’s wrong? How bad is it?”

“T-The door, Lance, I’m sorry, I can’t—“

Although Keith’s voice sounded clear to his ears, Lance could easily make out how strained and weak it appeared.

“Oh shit, I— you know what? Don’t worry about it, just hurry the fuck back in here already—“

He realized his mistake as soon as he said it.

“Lance.”

Yeah.

“I can’t open t-this door if the other’s… open.”

Right. Yes. _Fuck_.

“I…”

He thought he could hear metal clinging against metal as Keith somehow leaned against it.  
Lance closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the wall-like door, his helmet loudly protesting.

That piece of shit probably didn’t even get a dent from it.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he whispered.

His hands curled into fists.

“Were you at least able to… connect all the tube-y stuff? And do you have your SAFER with you, just in ca—“

A weak gasp interrupted him, but otherwise there was nothing else.  
The pilot couldn’t help but frown.

“Keith! Hey, what’s—“

The slightly panicked wheezing that followed was answer enough.

He could feel his legs becoming jelly as he huffed out a humorless laugh and leaned against the metal for support.

“You’re such an idiot,” he couldn’t help but mumble.

“I know,” was the shaky reply.

No. Wrong. Back.  
“Wait, no, I didn’t mean that—“

“I know,” Keith repeated softly.

Tired.

Wrong.

“Keith, listen, stop talking and save your breath, alright? I’ll open the door. Somehow. Just, don’t do anything rash, got it? And... stay safe.”

A quiet hum.

He pressed his right fist against the door.  
At first he hesitated, but then he forcefully pounded at it.  
Once. Twice.

Silence.

Then, there was the same sound coming from the other side (butonlyonce), and Lance couldn’t help but smile thinly despite the circumstances.

“I’ll be back,” he whispered.

_“I need to check something. I’ll be back.”_

He closed his eyes and turned his back on his _(comradesecretcrushrivalmechanic)_ friend.

Lance ran as fast as possible.

* * *

 

“Oh man, that escalated quickly. Ain’t that a bitch?”

“…”

 _“’It’s easy for you guys. Nothing special. What you usually do. But in space,’_ they said. _‘It’ll be fun,’_ they said. Hah. Right. I’ll tell ‘em about the fun we had with our space-y companions there.”

“…”

“Yo, Keith. You still with me, bud?”

He tried to remember as much of what Pidge tried to teach him about hijacking the system during an emergency as he could right then and there.

“Uh-huh.”

His gloved fingers were flying over the keys and screens.

“Great, that’s perfect. Yes. What did you even want to check out in that stinky hole? Wait, no, don’t answer that. You’re either gonna be a smartass or totally rational about it and duh. We all know I’d feel the desperate urge to be a jerk about it, right? Hah. Let’s, just, not do that right now. Later. Yeah.”

_Save your breath for more important stuff. Please._

A robotic voice was echoing through the empty cockpit now, but he couldn’t make out what it was saying.

“Hey, when we get back down, you need to meet my family. It’s really big and loud, though, not the kind you’d like, I guess. But my mom would probably adopt you. Like a stray kitten. I used to bring them home all the time, back in Cuba. Hah. With that mullet you sure could pass as one. I’m sure.”

That didn’t even make sense.  
Keith huffed out a short laugh nonetheless.

They both knew that Lance was rambling.

“I’m onto something here. Can’t be long anymore ‘til I get you out, you’ll see!”

Another hologram popped up next to him.

“I’ll just continue talking.”  
Rambling.  
“Y’know, gotta keep annoying you. Can’t have you liking me and these handsome features; we’re stuck here for a while after all.”

“… Lance.”

“Yeah, right? Ridiculous. Actually getting along? Keith and Lance? Hah, haha, good one—“

“Lance, listen, I—“

His eyes reflected in the blueish projection and he watched them flicker over the words with a weird fascination.

“Huh. I think I got it. Just a second now—“

“Lance!”

He flinched and closed his eyes; finger hovering over a button.

“Yeah?”

“I… I’m sorry.”

Lance blinked.

“I— I think I grabbed your equipment in a h-hurry, and—“

Earth seemed so small in front of him.

“and y-you went out for quite a, a while, some— some time ago, remember? S-Spacewalking. And—“

He remembered.

“L-Lance, I don’t— the numbers, they— they’re literally dropping, right in f-front of my eyes, and I’m, I’m so sorry, Lance— oh my _God,_ I—“

A sob wrecked through his head and his teeth grit down.  
Metallic taste filled his mouth.

“I-I’m going to d- _die_ , h- _here_ , in f-fucking _space_ —“

Hysterical laughter.  
Was it his own or Keith’s?  
His jaw ached.

“ _Keith_ —“

_“Lance—“_

His frozen finger trembled.

It’s too late,  
He was too slow,

Too late andtooslowtoofuckinglatei _twasoverallover_

“Keith, please listen—“

Panicked breaths and a bang.  
Static began to fill his ears.

But he couldn’t do it.

(whatifhewasgonebythenhecouldntstandseeinghisbodyoh _god_ )

_“L-Lance—“_

_“Keith—!”_

_“I’m s-so sorry—“_

_“What’s happening?!”_

He was wailing at this point, voice shrill with desperation and blurred sight.

_“Keith—!”_

_“L-Lance, I—“_

Too quiet.

_“I l-lo—“_

Keith’s voice was gone and Lance slammed his hand through the hologram.

* * *

 

When Lance came back, he could open the door to the airlock with ease.  
He left it open behind him, not caring about the deafening siren immediately blaring through the ship.

Something

(gravity)

Tugged at (himhisbodyhiswholebeing _keith)_

So he slipped against the wall next to the door right away.  
From there he could see a gaping hole, leading into blackness.  
It was just big enough to squeeze a person through it.

(keithprobablydidntevenneedsqueezinghewassoshortandskinny)

But the airlock itself was empty and Lance had to admit he lowkey panicked.

He wanted to call out, but realized the other wouldn’t hear him anyway, so he adjusted his jetpack instead and made sure one end of the tether was secured on his suit.

Carefully, he inched closer to the adapted door.  
Taking a deep breath, he stared at the digital numbers and vitals mirroring in the glass of his helmet.

Now that he faced the unknown, Lance thought about his family; his mother.  
How she’d stand in the kitchen, humming an uplifting tune while stirring brownie dough.

His father, how he’d walk in, and though his skin was speckled with oil and sweat he’d hug his wife from behind, while she'd laugh and turn around in his arms to give him a peck on his stubby cheek.

His brothers and sisters, all 4 of them, lazing and goofing around.  
Both his older sister and brother bickering with each other, trying to push dish-duty onto the other with gentle smiles and lovely banter.  
The little twin sisters lifting each other onto their shoulders to reach the bowl while their mother was distracted; next second, they were squealing and scattering into the living room as their father ran after them with a mischievous smirk, hands ready to tickle.

His heart ached with a bittersweet sting.  
He blinked the tears out of his eyes and choked out a laugh.

It sure all was one big cliché, until the very end, huh?

Oh well.

But there was one thing he still wanted to do

Now more

Than anything.

He would get Keith home and show him a family.

Before, he already told him so.

And he’d fulfill that promise.

Grasping that final thought, he let himself fall.

* * *

 

Keith could feel his eyelids droop as he listened to the other blubbering his ears off.

(hedidntmindthough)

It was a welcome distraction to his careful, concentrated breathing as he huddled himself into a corner.

Gravity was pulling at him, tugging at his skin, and there was a voice breathing down his neck; telling him to just let go and _float._

But he couldn’t.

Not yet.

Lance was still talking, after all.

*

He tried to not let his mind wander too far.

Occasionally he hummed a quiet answer he wasn’t even sure his companion would hear, or if it was needed, but hey, he tried.

(anditwashard)

Everything seemed weird and kind of sluggish, his mind in a clouded haze.  
But suddenly, beeping noises filled his ears, and something was rapidly flashing at his face.  
He blinked slowly and tried to focus his eyes on the flickering, now orange numbers.

A dry swallow made his throat itch.

“—an’t have you liking me and these handsome features; we’re stuck here for a while after all.”

“… Lance,” he whispered

(dontinterrupthimhewillstopandyoudontwantthat)

and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his head on them and slinging his arms around them as good as he could.

“Yeah, right? Ridiculous. Actually getting along? Keith and Lance? Hah, haha, good one—“

“Lance, listen, I—“ he tried again and his eyes were stinging as he tightened his grip on his legs.

“Huh. I think I got it. Just a second now—“

“Lance!”

The number continued to slowly lower towards its (their _his)_ end.

“Yeah?”

It came hesitant, as if he dreaded an answer.

“I… I’m sorry.”

For once, it was silent on the other end.

Keith didn’t like it.

“I— I think I grabbed your equipment in a h-hurry, and—“

He thought about how the stars continued to align around them.

How Lance’s eyes sparkled brighter than the biggest star when they bickered with each other.

_(focusfocusfocus)_

“and y-you went out for quite a, a while, some— some time ago, remember? S-Spacewalking. And—“

_(justsaysomethingalreadyp **lease—)**_

“L-Lance, I don’t— the numbers, they— they’re literally dropping, right in f-front of my eyes, and I’m, I’m so sorry, Lance— oh my _God,_ I—“

His head shot up, and suddenly he was wide awake.  
Realization finally hit him and his chest filled with panic, a cold hand gripping his heart and tightening its grasp around it.

A sob escaped his lips and his hands slapped uselessly against the glass of his helmet.

“I-I’m going to d- _die_ , h- _here_ , in f-fucking _space_ —“

Hysterical laughter blubbered deep within his chest and slid up his throat, straining his vocal chords and making him choke up on air.  
Was it his own or Lance’s in the end?

By now he really couldn’t tell.

“ _Keith—_ “

His hands crawled up as if to grab his hair, only to continue to scrape against the barrier between them.

 _“Lance_ —“

If he had to die, the last thing he wanted to hear was Lance calling his name.

“Keith, please listen—“

He banged his head against the wall.

(nono _no_ hedidntwanttohearanymore)

Ringing filled his ears, followed by static.

His breathing sped up, blinking numbers telling him that his pulse was skyrocketing, but he couldn’t shake off the trembling smile curling around his lips.

_“L-Lance—“_

_“Keith—!”_

_“I’m s-so sorry—“_

For fucking up.

For leaving you here like this; all alone, with only the universe around you.

For being so much trouble, for always snapping at you, for not being honest.

For not being able to meet the people dearest to you.

(hedidntvoiceanyofitoutloud)

_“What’s happening?!”_

He hated that the other’s voice was shrill and thick with worry, breaking at the end.

Keith didn’t want it to end like this.

_“Keith—!”_

He took another deep breath and swore it’d be the last.

_“L-Lance, I—“_

Closing his eyes, he tried to steady his rasping gulps of (precious _important_ rare) oxygen.

His face felt wet and he shivered.

(his helmet must be leaking)

One (lastfirst) time he would be honest.

Yeah, he could do that.

_“I l-lo—“_

Before he could finish, he smacked his head back into the wall again and static was all he heard.

_*_

He must’ve blacked out for a few seconds, because he drowsily blinked his eyes back open and found himself slumped against the wall.  
Static continued to quietly make its way into his brain and he felt sick.

He couldn’t fucking do it.

Now, Lance’s voice was gone.

But there was nobody banging frantically against the door, so it couldn’t have been long since he cut the connection off.  
Carefully, he pushed himself onto his feet, holding onto the wall for support.  
His head was swimming, but it didn’t matter.

He forced himself to take short breaths, entire body tingling already.

Short short short _long_ short short

(justenough—)

(itdidntmatteranymoreanyway)

His steps faltered, and he looked down at his suit.  
All control had left his hands as he watched them detach the steel tether with shaky fingers.

It fell to the floor with a metallic _clunk,_ unmoving and abandoned.

_likehe’llabandonLance_

He bent to lift it back up, tiredly pulling it along, as he moved towards the modified exit.

As if in some sort of trance, he watched it suddenly being torn from his grip (burninghishandsthroughhisglovesandithurt) and disappear into the strange nothingness.

He wondered if he would disappear like that, too.

He hoped Lance wouldn’t come to see and find him.

Keith closed his eyes and let himself fall with wide, welcoming arms.

(he wished Lance was there to see him off one last time)

*

Floating was weird.

Surrounded by stars, it was like swimming on his back and looking up at the night sky.

A voice in his head cooed softly, luring him closer; when he turned his head, Earth was there, minding nobody’s business.

He slowly stretched out a hand.

Yeah. This was okay.

It was fascinating how easy it was to just… _be_ and move.

Never has it been like this before.

Movebeingmoved _moving_ tryingtomove

Hysterical beeping echoed around him.

His eyes – hecouldntevenrememberwhenheclosedthem – snapped back open in alarm.

He sucked in a deep breath and within his mind, he flailed as somebody cried out.  
But in reality, his right hand shot out in slow motion to hold on to something, engulfed by silence.

(in his head, lance continued to wail for him)

* * *

 

Before he left he slowed the ship down, so it didn’t surprise him.  
At the same time, he was glad and relieved at that.

Lance found Keith just right next to the door, both his arms hooked around a handle.

He was resting there, floating, curled in on himself and leaning against the metal of the ship.

As the pilot moved along the side of the vehicle to move towards the other, he could see – between the reflected stars – that his eyes were closed, and icy dread settled within his stomach.

Harshly, he reached out.

“Keith, _Keith,_ c’mon now—“

He smacked one of his hands against his companion’s headgear, once, twice.

The quiet accompanying static in his ears lifted slightly and Lance believed to hear what must’ve been faint, wheezing and trembling breaths.

He sighed in relief, tears springing into his eyes once again.

_“Keith!”_

Slowly, he startled awake.  
Blinking sluggishly and frowning in confusion, but _still alive_ and Lance impulsively wrapped his arms around the other.

Keith was as stiff as a board (like always), but eventually finally nuzzled into Lance’s neck with slumped shoulders.

It wasn’t comfortable, at all.  
They were floating in fucking _space._

“This is still better than any chick-flick movie!” He snickered under his breath.

Keith didn’t respond.

Lance slowly pulled back, but keeping his hands on the other’s shoulders.

“Keith, dude, c’mon. Let’s go back in. Those bastards finally left us alone, we can go back home in peace now! Because we sure as hell ain’t going to move on with this shit; right? You in?”

All he got was a cocked head and questioning blink.

Lance pursed his lips.  
He pointed back up at the ship.

Keith’s glance drowsily followed his gloved fingers, but then wandered off to absentmindedly stare at the universe.

He frowned.

Irritated _(worriedconcernedwhatwaswrongfixfixfixit)_ he knocked at the other’s helmet.

Once again startled he looked up at Lance.

Said guy leaned closer, taking in the unfocused and unnaturally bright eyes.

The blue-purplish hue littering his chapped lips and glistening skin.

 _“[¡Oh ](.)_[_dios mío!_](.) Keith, _breathe!”_ He cried out, one of his hands turning into a fist as he slammed it down onto the other’s back.

As Keith almost literally spluttered and coughed back to life, Lance pulled him up.

“Hold on to something for a sec, and _keep the fuck breathing,”_ he instructed sternly.

He didn’t wait – though Keith helplessly grabbed his shoulders this time (totally didn’t make him blush, nope, didn’t happen) –, and instead grabbed the free end of his tether.  
Stretching it out, he connected it to Keith’s suit, who watched the whole ordeal with furiously blinking eyes.

“There,” he continued, and his voice softened as Keith looked up at him.  
“So you don’t go floating off alone. Now come on, you need to get back inside!”

Lance grabbed one of the other’s hands and gave it a gentle tug.

He yelped as Keith unexpectedly ripped his hand away, expression a pained grimace.

But then his purple eyes widened as he swayed, and Lance could do nothing but watch in surprise as Keith toppled off to the side in front of him.

By the time he finally reached out, the other was floating below him, and Lance felt a rough pull at his waist that had him sinking down, too.  
He reached up to hold on to the edge of the ship just in time.

Wincing at the jolting pain in his shoulder, he grit his teeth and looked down.

Keith wasn’t meeting his eyes.

 _“Keith!”_ He hollered anxiously.

The mechanic suddenly slowly reached up, holding onto the tether with a tender grip and Lance let out a sigh of relief; ready to pull them both up on board, muscles already tensing.

Keith tugged at the only thing keeping them connected.  
Lance looked down and his eyes widened with horror.

“ _Keith!”_ He squealed, hurting his own ears in the process.

He didn’t care, though; instead he tried to scramble for the edge, but his fingers _kept slipping off—_

Another tug.

At first, he didn’t dare to look.  
But eventually he did it, anyway.

Literally the whole universe was staring back at him and he couldn’t take his eyes off of it.

Was it just him, or was it slowly slipping further away?

Well.

When Keith suddenly dropped down, only holding on to his end with one hand, he wished he never asked.  
The air in his lungs was suddenly _gone,_ his vitals beeping in alarm as he tried to get his shit together.

Spanish cussing rolled off his tongue in muttered waves as he frantically shook his head, hoping that Keith would _see_ and _understand—_

That bastard was still staring up at him, but otherwise gave no sign of acknowledgement.

He couldn’t read his face, either.

But then, Keith reached out with his free hand.  
It was shaking, and after a moment of hesitation his fingers curled in towards the palm of his hand before stretching out again.

Offering a small, gentle wave, followed by a half-assed salute.

Then he let go and Lance screamed.

(the space around him was suddenly streaked with cracks)

* * *

 

Keith was back to floating.

(itwasgettinghardertobreathe)

He frowned as he recalled his comrade’s almost aggressive gesture.

If he could have thought of another way, he’d gone there, really.

But he couldn’t, because he for once knew when to give it up, and now Lance had to suffer for it.

His heart ached from more than just the constant deprivation of air and he tried to get his mind off it.  
At least now Lance could return to his family without Keith holding him back.

(theairwasgettingoppressive)

Letting his eyes wander to watch the beautiful but still kind of intimidating scenery around him, they steadily slipped close.

What a nice way to go.

He couldn’t complain; better than to be mauled by aliens, at least.

But then there was a weird pressure – whatthehecktheywereinspace – on his helmet and he was being pulled onto his stomach.  
A muffled voice reached his ears, and his eyes shot back open as a dizzy feeling flooded his whole being; mind and body alike.

When his gaze met the two most beautiful blue planets he has ever had the honor of discovering, he still couldn’t really complain either, though.

A gentle smile spread across his lips.

He reached out to try and touch them, when his hands collided with a wall.

Keith blinked.  
Through the cotton balls stuffed into his ears, he could make out a strange sound.

Huh.  
Crying?  
He wasn’t—

His eyes widened.

Keith’s fingers curled around the other’s helmet painfully as he leaned his head in as close as possible.

They were falling, falling, _falling_ straight at ( ~~home~~ )Earth.  
He closed his eyes and wept for everything they just gave up.

For everything they never could be.

For what he got but didn’t deserve.

For them.

For Lance.

With one last, shuddering breath,

He wished and prayed.

(he wished they could’ve had more time together and prayed for Lance to make it back)

* * *

 

Lance didn’t hesitate.

He ripped off his end of the tether, too, not even ( ~~caring~~ )realizing that it floated away.

Instead he pushed himself off the edge as hard as he could.

Keith came closer, closer, _closer_ ; and with him came Earth, but that didn’t _matter_ , because Lance was finally able to reach out again and hold the other’s stupid, _stupid_ mullet head – well, helmet, really; but details, details – between his hands.

Carefully, he pulled, and then they were both flying on their stomachs and facing each other.

Lance frowned and his eyes burned.

 _“Keith,_ please, _c’mon_ buddy—“

Purple galaxies in countless different shades were staring back at him, wide and freckled with silver little stars.

A soft smile appeared through the glass, and then he was reaching out for Lance, too.  
However, he looked quiet confused as his hands met on resistance.

Tears finally spilled down his cheeks as Keith blinked in wonder, and he couldn’t hold back a sob.

_I’m here now, it’s okay, it’ll be okay, I can get us back, you will be alright, you will s_

Keith leaned into him and their helmets collided with a gentle thud, a quiet cracking sound echoing in his ears as Lance imagined the other’s grip tightening.

He didn’t protest, didn’t speak up.

Earth was near.

Lance watched Keith’s lower lip tremble dangerously, and then he had closed his eyes and was crying, too; mouth moving at the speed of light.

“Keith. Keith; _Keith,_ ” he called meekly, but somehow, miraculously, Keith opened his eyes again.

“I can get us back, you hear me? I can, I really can—“

He halted.

Then, he mouthed

_S A F E R_

And jerked his chin over his shoulder, trying to point at his jetpack he almost forgot about.

Understanding flickered across Keith’s face.

But he shook his head and pointed at his neck and at his chest, shaking his head again with a weak, apologizing smile and Lance _flipped._

“Are you telling me _you give up?_ If you’d just _stop_ being so _goddamn stubborn_ all the time I could’ve gotten us back _long ago—“_

Keith kept smiling.

(hislipswerestilltrembling)

(hedidnthearhim)

Lance saw his mamá.

And then he ripped away from Keith – he tried to ignore the heartbroken but also oh so _relieved_ expression – and slipped out of his jetpack.

At least they’d both die being idiots.

(he could think of worse ways to die)

*

Keith practically almost screeched his ears off and was on Lance not even a second later.  
He seemed absolutely _forlorn_ and now it was Lance who smiled.

But he reached out and held the other’s wrists, shaking his head and trying to look reassuring and calm.

Yeah, right.  
Internally, he was _freaking._  
They were _both_ going to _fucking die right there in space santa mierda—_

He wondered if his family would be proud of him.

(hedidntknow)

“It’s okay,” was what he mouthed, again and again.

No use in forcing his voice out, anyway.

Keith scowled at him.

Lance smiled and shrugged.

But then something on his companion’s expression changed, and suddenly he held up one hand, fingers spread.

Lance stared at it in confusion, before cocking his head and mimicking the gesture.

Keith frowned slightly and mouthed

F I V E

And Lance could feel his heart stop mid-beat.

But he smiled and took Keith’s hand into his own.

The other was blushing furiously, but Lance wasn’t, couldn’t even throw a tease out there.

It kept echoing through his mind.

_(five)_

Slowly, he moved his lips.

“Let’s make it count, then. Alright. So.”

Lance took a deep breath.

(all he could think of was that Keith wouldn’t be able to do that ever again soon)

They were gaining speed, falling, falling, falling.

His free hand reached up and poked Keith’s helmet.

“I…”

Dragging his index finger across the glass, he continued slowly; simultaneously writing everything down.

“Like…”

A cheesy, not really well proportioned, heart to make it short and clear.

“You.”

Keith stared at him with glassy, red rimmed eyes.

Lance didn’t wait to see if he got the message.

Instead, he continued the same way.

“I know we fight like 24/7, but I… It makes me feel at ease. I never meant any harm, so I’m sorry if I ever hurt you.”

He used shortcuts and synonyms on like every word, so he’d be surprised if Keith actually understood what he was going on about.

But there were no protests, so he kept going.

How pathetic it was, to only talk about it now that they’re biting the dust. Sad to think he didn’t have the balls before.

Oh well.

Soon, it wouldn’t matter anymore, anyway.

_~~(four)~~ _

“And… yeah. Like. It was fun, travelling space. And all… the other stuff. With you. My family’s gonna love ya, though.”

Yeah. Fuck past tense. He’d _so_ introduce them.

His writing got more chopped off and sloppy with every word as tears clouded his vision once again.

Keith didn’t pull away.

He must’ve hated it; having his personal bubble invaded like that.

Lance huffed out a laugh.

“I’m sorry, I never thought I’d ever get into a situation like this; can you even _imagine_? Wow. Haha. Incredible. But, uhm, yeah, so I don’t really know what to say, y’know, and—“

His hands were trembling.

At one point, he just let his fingertip squeal across the glass and drop on Keith’s shoulder.

Said guy looked alarmed just then and unsure of what to do, how to react.

_L A N C E –_

“Oh well. I’m sorry I wasn’t more careful. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you home. I’m sorry I couldn’t introduce you— y-yet,” he hastily added, stumbling over the letters.

_(t hree)_

Keith’s hands were suddenly on his biceps.

He shook his head and with a thin smile, raised one finger.

For a moment Lance was scared, but then Keith pressed it against his face(glasshelmet) like he himself did before, and the pilot relaxed.

Then –

_I_

His breath was taken right out of his lungs.

_♡_

Lance laughed.

It sure looked better than his own attempt; though still a tad wobbly.

( _ ~~tw o)~~_

Then, his eyes widened when it dawned on him.

_U_

He was actually –

_2_

Lance bit down on his lip and closed his eyes, before pulling the other into a hug.  
Slowly, hesitantly, a pair of hands carefully pressed down on his back.

He couldn’t help but wonder how long it'd take for it to start hurting them.

Keith pulled away and held up another finger, looking at him expectantly with a sudden strange calmness.

Lance gulped and tried not to get lost in those special eyes, expressing nothing but fondness and silent apologies.

(hehadtosavorthem)

His world shattered the moment Keith curled his hand into a fist, one single tear running down his cheek.

Lance reached out as soon as he saw his eyelids droop and gulp for air like a fish on land, scooping his friend into his arms.

(hischestwassuddenlyempty)

“It’s okay,” he whispered reassuringly, over and over again, just to hear _something._

Keith’s eyes were wide with fear, repose from before long gone, as he instinctively reached up to claw at his neck.

Lance used one hand to hold both of Keith’s, the other to pull him closer.

He leaned down and the glass of their gears met.

What wouldn’t he give to just be able to _touch_ him, _just one time_ , brush his lips over his forehead, to tell him that it’s _okay,_ even though it _wasn’t—_

(aliaruntiltheveryend)

“Stay with me, please, don’t leave me here, I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough, _I’m sorry—“_ he whispered.

Keith’s back and shoulders arched off his arm, and he squeezed both his hands soothingly.

When he let go to write again though, it was

R E S T

Keith suddenly all but slumped into his body; eyes still wide but wandering off unfocused, purplish lips parted wide and chest heaving jerkily.

keithkeithkeithk _eith **keith**_

Almost equally purple eyes suddenly locked onto his own with a surprising flicker of clarity.  
But then Keith’s fingers twitched as he calmly slipped one hand out of Lance’s grasp, slowly reaching up.

Lance whimpered when it came to a stop over his cheek, thumb weakly brushing over the glass.  
He swore he could almost feel a ghostly touch on his skin.  
“No, no— n-no, _Keith_ —“

The soft, reassuring smile didn’t match the steady flow of tears Lance could make out in front of him.

When Keith’s hand eventually slid off his gear and his eyes disappeared behind his eyelids, his smile stayed frozen on his lips.  
His chest shuddered one last time, before his whole body went limp and unnaturally still in Lance’s arms.

Lance cradled his comrade closer to his chest and closed his eyes.

(he didn't even have any tears left to shed)

*

He didn’t know how much time passed.

He knew that he still had way too much time left.

Earth looked mockingly beautiful in front of him.  
His arms were starting to ache; not from the barely noticeable weight being forced onto them, but from lack of moving.

Their ship was too far away.

Earth was too close.

Stiff fingers clamped down harder.

A buzzing sound filled his ears and he slowly turned his head.

Lance could feel a desperate laugh bubble deep down in the core of his chest, slipping past his lips in the form of a choked up sob.

Yet, he couldn’t help the bitter smile curling around the corner of his lips as he stared down the barrel of a gun; almost taking the size of a canon, even.

Face to face with an alien spaceship.

Should he be laughing or crying?

Man, his mother would never believe him when he’d tell her all about it.

A shrill sound accompanied the noise of the motors as the weapon charged.  
Lance went to face their enemies completely, turning his back on his home.

His family.

“I’m sorry, _mamá_ ,” he whispered sadly. “I… We’ll still be a while.”

He hoped she would hear him.

A voice suddenly boomed through the universe, but to him it sounded like nothing but gibberish.  
So, he kept smiling and cockily raised his chin.

Lance tightened his grip.

“Yo, Keith,” he hummed and let his eyes wander off.

Light from the corner of his vision almost blinded him, but he kept staring at the stars.

And for one, dreadful second it was the most quiet it has ever been so far.

“What do you think about going home early, huh?”

He closed his eyes and let his tears slide past; trying to embrace the sight of space and stars and Keith’s smile within his mind.

His own smile strained his cheeks.

His shoulders were shaking.

His mind was screaming at him to try and escape, to somehow make it back up.

(but he stood solid as a rock in space and only wished to see them all again someday)

“See ya soon, bud.”

Lance didn’t even get to think about what’d happen next.

Suddenly, there was nothing left at all and he was gone.

And that was that.

* * *

 

[“¡Mamá, mamá! ¡Está nevando!”](.) 

Melissa frowned as she put the plate to the side, flinging her dishtowel over her shoulder.  
She moved to glance into the living room, just to find her two youngest daughters glued to the window.

 _“[No, Isa, eso no puede ser; es verano, cariño](.),”_ she argued gently. 

[“¡No, pero mira!”](.) Lucia chimed in, excitedly waving her mother closer.

Melissa pursed her lips, as she quietly made her way over.  
When she stood behind them, the twins giggled and were out the front door before she could blink.

She went to call after them, but a glance out of the window made her freeze and squint.

Tiny, dusty-looking pieces were gently swaying down.  
If you didn’t know better, you could easily mistake it for snow; but close up Melissa realized that it wasn’t.

Hurriedly, she followed her daughters outside.

They were standing there, stretching and reaching out with their hands, trying to catch the mysterious particles.

 _“Isabella, Lucia!”_ She barked.

The girls whirled around with wide eyes and with one glance at their mother, they hurried back into the house.

Melissa took a deep breath.

[“¿Qué ocurre, mamá?” ](.)

She turned to look over her shoulder, to find her two oldest children standing there, eyeing her curiously.

[ _“No lo sé._ _Mira este.”_  ](.)  
She shook her head and nodded towards the sky.

Alexander, who was the one to speak up before, stood next to her; Emilia followed quietly with an alert expression.

Her son’s calculating gaze followed the subject of their interest, before reaching out and catching a gray flake, holding it up to his face and inspecting it.  
He blew a breath of air at it.

It dissolved into the wind.

She watched him blink.

 _[“Su ceniza,”](.) _ he stated confusedly.

[ _“¿Ceniza?”_  ](.)Emilia repeated and her brother nodded.

Then he shrugged as the women exchanged looks.  
He didn’t know more, either.

Melissa hesitantly stepped outside.

 _[“Tal vez es un mensaje de Lance,”](.) _ Emilia jokingly threw in, but immediately lifted her hands in a defensive manner when the other two gave her a weird expression.

 _[“¿Que está pasando?”](.) _ another voice boomed in, strong and deep.  
[“ _No sabemos bien, papá”_](.) Alexander sighed, running a hand through his messy chestnut hair.

 _“Sebastian—“_ Melissa started as her husband came out of their garage, but he shook his head.

 _[“Voy a comprobar las noticias,”](.) _ he told her.  
Before he passed her, he bent his head to press a tender kiss onto her forehead.  
_[“Estoy seguro de que todo está bien,”](.) _ he continued calmly.  
Then he disappeared through the door.

With one last exchanged glance, her children followed him.

Melissa turned around as well, but then there was a sudden rush of air and familiar laughter echoed through her head.  
Something brushed her shoulders and she spun back around on the spot.

Wide eyed, her eyes roamed over the place; from their parked car in front of their garage where Sebastian had been working on it, to the old trees right next to their house, until they stopped at the fence leading into their garden.

But there was nobody there.

She took a deep breath and tried to ignore how her stomach suddenly felt heavy.  
The setting sun bathed her in a warm, orange light as she watched the sky above her.  
In a gesture of silent prayer, she clasped her hands and brought them up to her chest, closing her eyes.

 _[“Por favor regrese pronto, mi hijo,”](.) _ she whispered.

Melissa remembered how they saw him off; Lance grinning excitedly and waving over his shoulder, looking forward to finally live out his dreams.

She was happy for him at that time; she really was.

Above her, a star died as it flew across the sky.

(but deep down she wished she never let him go)

  
**— tbc**

**Author's Note:**

> *aggressively fingerguns myself into the sun*
> 
> i'm what the kids call *puts on shades* a mes s™
> 
> yell at me on my voltron/klance _[tumblr](http://gayspaceguys.tumblr.com/) _


End file.
